


Costume Not Required

by Laziam (MItCheLlInE)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Humour, Halloween, M/M, Meet-Cute, Supernatural Elements, Trick or Treating, Vampire Zayn, ziam halloween challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MItCheLlInE/pseuds/Laziam
Summary: Zayn is a vampire, who's new to the neighbourhood and who just wants Halloween to be over. But then, a slightly awkward encounter at his front door changes his perspective.
Relationships: Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Comments: 17
Kudos: 59
Collections: Ziam Halloween Challenge





	Costume Not Required

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Laziam (MItCheLlInE)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MItCheLlInE/pseuds/Laziam) in the [Ziam2020HalloweenExchange](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Ziam2020HalloweenExchange) collection. 



> I have written this ficlet for the Ziam Halloween Challenge. Thank you to the amazing folks who have organised this.
> 
> Please, leave comments and kudos if you have enjoyed it. It would mean a lot. 
> 
> Thank you :)

It’s not the 31st of October already...is it?

Zayn used to love Halloween, but ever since a drunken vampire had turned him into one of his kind, he has rather lost the enthusiasm for it. The living are so clueless when it comes to creatures like him which is why he mostly ignores the event. But some years he’d walk around, flashing his fangs at passers-by, earning compliments on how realistic they look and admittedly, that is fun. Not this year though.

Every so often vampires must relocate so that the humans around them don’t notice their inability to age further, and that is what Zayn has been doing for the past couple of weeks; finding a new place and presumably, that’s the reason he completely missed the fast-approaching holiday.

Right now he walks towards his new home, a shopping bag slung over his shoulder. He is glad he found the small, old-fashioned house in this quiet neighbourhood. It is sandwiched between two much bigger and more impressive buildings. The property has been left unoccupied for a number of years and could definitely do with some cosmetic improvements, but Zayn likes it as it is. The tired facade and the dull windows will hopefully keep unwanted visitors away. He chuckles at the thought that both of his neighbours have put so much work into getting their houses ready for Halloween with numerous pumpkins and all sorts of ghostly decorations when his appears spooky without any effort whatsoever.

As he climbs the steps to his faded front door, a cheery voice calls to him from the next driveway. “Hey, mate, welcome to Honeysuckle Lane. I’m having a Halloween party tonight. You’re more than welcome to come along. No need to bring anything...my name is Niall, by the way.”

Oh great, a party! Zayn can’t think of many things he enjoys less. He knows that one invitation usually leads to another, and before he can prevent it, the human will think they’re friends and that’s absolutely not going to happen. He had noticed his young neighbour curiously eyeing him a few times from afar, but he hasn’t spoken until today. Humans generally find Zayn mesmerizing but most of them instinctively keep their distance. He needs to shut this attempt at getting to know him down real fast. 

“Sorry, I don’t do social engagements, but have fun.” And with that, he slams his door behind him.

He drops his bag onto the wobbly kitchen table and unpacks his provisions. Even though eating and drinking are no longer a necessity, he has carried two addictive items over into his undead life, namely coffee and gummi bears. His actual nourishment is stashed safely in a large fridge in the cellar. 

With a bag of the sweets in one hand and a steaming mug in the other, he makes his way into the living room. Here, everything is dark wood and lavish upholstery. Not exactly to his taste, but it’s comfortable and will do for now. 

Just as he digs into the bag to pick out the red bears because they are his favourites and he leaves them till last, there’s a knock on the door. Who could that be? Then it dawns on him - Halloween. Seems like some kids are not bothered by the exterior of his new abode. He wishes they’d just go away. Besides, it’s not like he has anything to give them. The blood bags downstairs are most likely not what they’re after.

He could always pretend he’s not in. While he thinks about that, he peeks through the frosted glass of the hallway window and he can see a silhouette of a person that is definitely not a child and so he decides to open up after all. 

He is slightly taken aback by what he finds outside. In front of him stands a fully grown man in a Batman costume with one of those plastic pumpkin baskets. Zayn wants to laugh and shut the door immediately but somehow he finds himself intrigued. Not least because his caller has a notably broad frame and beautifully formed thighs, also Batman happens to be his number one superhero. 

“Trick or Treat,” Batman says in a melodic voice, holding his bucket somewhat awkwardly out to Zayn.

Leaning casually against the door frame, Zayn takes his time to answer. Hardly able to contain his amusement, he says, “I’ll have a trick.”

“What?” 

“What’s your trick?”

Batman is clearly confused. He lowers his basket and takes a step back. “I don’t have a trick. You’re not supposed to be asking for one.”

“But you gave me a choice.”

Batman sighs heavily, looking totally dejected now and turns to leave. “Oh, I don’t know. That’s what you’re supposed to say. Sorry, to bother you.”

Zayn can’t help but be endeared by his wannabe trick or treater, who is blushing profusely and to his own amazement he hears himself say, “No, wait, how about a coffee?” 

Batman hesitates for a moment but then he nods, a shy smile playing on his lips. “Ok, I’m Liam.”

Zayn moves aside to let him pass before ushering him through to the living room. 

“I’m Zayn; have a seat, I’ll get your drink,” he says, nodding his head over to one of the plush chairs.

It only takes a minute to make the second coffee since the water had already boiled, and when he reenters his lounge, he almost spills half of it on the carpet. His visitor has taken his mask off and is indeed beautiful. His large brown eyes look directly at Zayn.

“You must think I’m a totally pathetic twat,” he says.

Zayn hands him his coffee and lowers himself into the opposite armchair. “No, not at all. But if you don’t mind me asking. Aren’t you a little old to be doing this, especially this time of day and on your own?”

His mug cupped between his hands, Liam stares into his lap. “I might as well tell you. I’ve never been trick or treating in my life. My family is dead against it. They think it’s very distasteful. But I now have my own place and I thought I’d do it just this once. Yours is actually the first house I’ve come to. And I have things to do later, so I had to start early.”

“Oh? What attracted you to this house in particular?” Zayn genuinely wants to know. 

Liam gives him a sheepish look. “I like that it doesn’t look so over the top with decorations. Ghoulish, yet understated. I bet you get that a lot huh?”

Jesus, you couldn’t make this up if you tried. Who is this guy? 

“Yeah, people say that sometimes,” he says mildly. That’s not anywhere near the truth, but Liam’s expression is so hopeful, that he doesn’t have the heart, beating or otherwise, to tell him that.

Truth is, as the seconds tick by, he is getting more and more attracted to his handsome guest. 

Then, while Zayn is still blissfully staring, Liam gets up, puts the empty mug on the table and grabs his stuff. “I’ll be on my way then. Thanks for the coffee and for...um...for not taking the piss.”

No, no, no...Zayn can’t let him go without discovering more about him and before his brain can inform him that this is a phenomenally bad idea, he says, ”Would you like to accompany me to a party later? It’s only next door.”

Really, Zayn?

“Thank you, but as I said before, I really am busy tonight.” Liam shrugs apologetically. 

Wow! Did this adorable human just refuse him? Zayn can’t recall when that last happened but it compels him to repeat the proposal.

“Just for a little while, yeah?”

“I wish I could, but it’s not possible, not tonight. Plus, I don’t even know the host.” Liam shrugs again, this time with an added shake of his head.

Zayn grins. “Me neither. But he seems friendly enough and it would be a good laugh...please?”

What the fuck is going on? Zayn realises that he sounds almost desperate. How can that be when he is always the one calling the shots when it comes to drawing people into his orbit? Fact is though; he wants to spend more time with this man. He could absolutely make him stay, but that is far too old skool for him and not the way he wants to live his undead life. 

Then he picks up on something interesting. Despite Liam’s numerous rejections of his invitation, Zayn can hear his heart hammering wildly in his chest. Why would that be if not…?

“Okay then, I’ll come over for just a little while. I need to get changed...obviously...so I’ll see you in a few hours?” The smile Liam gives him is blinding and Zayn hopes that he did interpret that heart rate correctly.

As soon as Liam is gone, the monumental ridiculousness of what just happened washes over Zayn. He should probably let his neighbour know that he changed his mind. Neil was it...or Noel? Anyway, he decides against it because no one would turn him away. There is, however, still a tiny niggle in the outskirts of his brain that warns him not to engage. On the last occasion, he got entangled with a human for something deeper than sex, things didn’t end particularly well for either of them. 

For now, Zayn banishes these thoughts and returns to his gummi bears.

*****

The party is in full swing and Zayn has made himself comfortable on a sofa in Niall’s reception room from where he has a good view of the entrance. He nips on the red wine, of which he is not a fan, and surveys the scene. Most of the guests are dressed in traditional Halloween garb but there are two guys snogging in the corner, who apparently didn’t get the memo. One of them is made up as Paul Stanley from the band Kiss and the other dons an Elton John Dodgers costume from the 70s. Zayn has chosen not to dress up especially, seeing that he is an actual vampire and therefore a costume is not required. Aside from that, he can always reveal some of his monstrous features if required which shuts pesky people up in an instant. The black jeans and jumper combo he has opted for looks amazing on him and his hair tied back into a small ponytail completes the ensemble. The way that everyone he passes gives him appreciative if weary glances confirm that. Zayn isn’t interested in any of these mortals though. He only wants to impress Liam.

Shit! What if he doesn’t come? 

Finally, after what felt like hours, he hears Liam’s voice at the door. He is talking to Niall.

“Hi...erm...I’m Liam. Zayn said it would be ok to come along.”

“Zayn? Oh, yes,” Niall says in that annoying super jolly tone of his. “Please, come in. Maybe you can wipe that bored expression from Mr Miserable’s face.”

Mr Miserable? Ha! Zayn briefly thinks about how he could very quickly inject some real excitement into this party, but then Liam arrives at the sofa and all his thoughts are focussed on him. His outfit looks almost identical to Zayn’s, except that his jumper is grey and made of a cosy wool. 

“Guess we’re both a bit underdressed, but I couldn’t face another costume after this morning’s debacle,” Liam says, flopping down next to him, so close that their knees are touching. Zayn has no complaints.

“You look great,” Zayn says honestly but when he sees Liam’s cheeks turn a lovely shade of crimson, he feels almost sorry for him and to help him over his embarrassment, he adds, “Have you seen those two over there in the pop star attire? What were they thinking?”

Liam looks more composed now. “I don’t think they care about anything but each other,” he says wistfully.

“That’s profound,” Zayn says, more endeared than ever. “I must say though, that Elton concert was divine.”

Liam nods. “Yeah, I’ve seen the footage. He was and still is an amazing artist.”

“I was there in person. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric. It was the largest crowd I’ve ever seen.”

‘What are you doing, Zayn? Why are you saying these things? Do you want to be exposed?’ Zayn’s inner voice is practically screaming at him. 

“Haha, yeah right. It was 1975 or something like that, right?” Liam says, accepting a bottle of cider that someone offers him. 

‘Now’s the time to say it was just a joke’, the inner voice points out.

But for reasons, even Zayn can’t fathom, he takes a chance that he hasn’t taken for decades. “No, I’m serious. I was there and it was the last time I went to a major event and felt my blood surging through my veins.”

Liam gives him an odd look. “In that case, you’ve aged well. What are you, a vampire?”

This is it. The point of no return. 

Zayn moves closer to Liam. “As a matter of fact, I am,” he says with a low growl.

This is usually the moment when humans freak out, so he is kind of prepared for what will surely come next. But to Zayn’s utter surprise, Liam merely cocks an eyebrow and regards him with another strange look.

He puts his bottle on a side table and turns all the way to face Zayn. “Really? Man, I wasn’t expecting that.” Then, he glances at the glass in Zayn’s hand and gasps, “That drink...is that…?”

Zayn smirks. “Blood? No, it’s red wine and a terrible one at that.”

“But you do drink...I mean eat...I mean, you do use it?” Liam seems fascinated rather than appalled. 

Putting down his own drink, Zayn readies himself for a long list of questions. “Yes, I do consume it, and to answer your next question, no, I don’t kill people on the regular.”

“So, you’ve never killed anyone?”

“I didn’t say that. But our species has evolved and we have complex networks which supply us with legally obtained human blood.”

“You have said that before, haven’t you?” Liam laughs.

Zayn joins in with the laughter, glad that the conversation didn’t go down a more morose route, although he doesn’t quite understand why Liam is so relaxed.

“Can I ask how it happened, and how many centuries you’ve been around?”

Some girl asks Zayn to dance but one dismissive look sends her on her way. Switching his attention back to Liam he explains, “It’s not as glamorous as all that. I was born in 1952 and three days after that Elton concert in LA, I took a short cut through a park, minding my own business when a guy attacked me from behind and bit me. That’s all there is to it.”

He hates thinking or talking about the day everything changed for him, but Liam deserves to know at least the basics. And Zayn is nothing if not honest, so he adds quietly, “I have killed two men after feeding on them. This was when I first got turned and before my mentor found me.”

Liam seems to digest that for a moment and Zayn expects the worst, but all he says is, “Thank you for telling me.”

His usual confidence is slightly bruised by Liam’s demeanour. He was poised to defend himself and ready to accept that Liam would never want to lay eyes on him again. Instead, they are sitting on this sofa, so close that their thighs are pressed firmly together. Neither of them talks and yet, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. 

Out of nowhere, Liam asks, “Any useful powers?”

That does it, and once again they start laughing uncontrollably.

When he has regained some composure, Zayn makes an attempt to clarify. “I have superhuman hearing and I am a bit stronger than your average guy.”

“Cool, I like me a strong man,” Liam says, covering Zayn’s hand with his own. 

Suddenly, the air is charged with something that hits Zayn right in the gut. Liam is not repelled, even so, he knows who and what his date really is.

He is just about to suggest that Liam should tell him more about himself when Niall arrives.

“Quiet...quiet everyone. We have picked names out of a hat and our first player for the Apple Bopping is Liam here. We don’t know him very well and he might not have made the biggest effort costume wise, but we wish him the best of luck.”

Niall pulls a heavily protesting Liam off his seat and proceeds to wrap a shawl around his eyes before tying his wrists with another. Appropriate or not, Zayn finds that this conjures up all sorts of R rated images in his mind.

“I can’t...no...I’m sorry, I have to go now,” Liam objects loudly.

Niall, completely unperturbed, leads him to a metal basin filled with water and about fifteen apples. Liam makes a few more feeble bids for freedom before he kneels in front of the basin, ready to remove the fruit. 

At first, he fishes around without much success, but then things get weird. All of a sudden, he rips through one apple after another in quick succession, throwing them forcefully through the room. So much so, that a few party-goers have to jump aside for fear of getting hit. His eyes have a sharp golden glow to them and he seems to have acquired a set of long, razor-sharp teeth. 

What the fuck?

After disposing of the last apple, Liam hauls himself off the floor, ripping the two shawls off his body, and runs out the front door with what sounds suspiciously like a howl. The crowd is stunned into silence for a hot second before returning to their previous activities. Many are discussing how clever Liam’s party trick was but Zayn knows better and races after him. 

“Liam, wait...we need to talk,” he shouts after the disappearing figure.

Eventually, he catches up with Liam, who stands bent over, drawing in big gulps of air. 

“You’re a werewolf,“ Zayn remarks rather unnecessarily. “That actually makes a whole lot of sense. You weren’t kidding when you said you had things to do this evening, were you?“

He throws a poignant glance at the full moon above them while Liam looks mortified. “Did anyone in there notice?” 

“They did, but they put it down to some genius Halloween trick. Humans you know, not the brightest,” Zayn reassures him, earning a grateful smile.

“So do you need to chain yourself to some wall tonight?” Zayn can’t believe he is the one with the burning questions now. 

Liam keeps smiling and shakes his head. “No, my kind has evolved as well. For safety reasons, I lock myself in a secure room, but yoga, meditation and some classical music normally keeps me quite calm.”

“I take it you can’t transform at will?”

“No, we’re stuck with this once a month thing. I come from a long line of werewolves which is why my folks loathe Halloween.”

“If you think about it, two monsters in everyday clothes having their first date at a Halloween costume party is kinda poetic.”

“That was our first date?” Liam asks and despite the bad light, Zayn can see his cheeks flaming. He will have to tease him about that later.

“Only if you want. I would very much like to see you again.” Zayn tentatively puts his hand to Liam’s cheek. It’s still hot to touch from all that blushing.

Liam stays silent. Had Zayn offended him? Was that too much too fast?

“Have I overstepped the line?”

Liam is quick to shake his head. “I’d love that,” he says, leaning into Zayn’s hand. “But I’ve heard somewhere that one bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire. No idea if that’s true though. I’ve never come across one before today.”

“Hm...I’ve never encountered werewolves either, but I hear that we just break their necks.” Zayn lets his hand sink. “Looks like we’re supposed to be mortal enemies, huh?” 

Liam straightens up, putting his hands on Zayn’s shoulders. “We’ve already agreed that both our sort have come a long way. We might as well extend that to romantic relationships between species.”

Zayn chuckles. “Romantic relationship?”

“Yeah, I really like you.” Liam breathes.

“I really like you as well.”

“So, why are you still talking?”

Zayn doesn’t need any additional encouragement. He locks his lips with Liam’s, losing himself in the sensation. The world kind of fades around him. Technically, his body may be dead, but in practice, it’s reacting like mad to the kiss. He only pulls away when he can feel hairs emerging on Liam’s face that weren’t there previously.

“Listen, babe, I think it’s time for you to go home. In the meantime, I’ll do some research into biting, the supernatural sort of course.”

Zayn gives Liam another peck on the mouth before dragging himself away. 

“I’ll pop round for coffee tomorrow,” Liam promises as he hurries towards his sanctuary. 

Zayn muses that on reflection, Halloween is not such a bad holiday.


End file.
